It is not uncommon when watching television , especially in the morning or late a night, to see lawyers advertising their services. The majority of these lawyers specialize representing those injured in a car accident or an accident occurring at your job. If you are injured from an car accident or on the job you are more than likely going to want to have some legal representation. When these commercials have clients claiming to receive thousands of dollars from their claim it is easy to think that you too can do the same. Does that mean that those advertising on TV are going to be able to do the same for you and should you pick up the phone and call them for an appointment? The answer is maybe but there are many things to consider before doing so.
Those who advertise on TV do so because they will make money off of you. You are not going to see small firms advertise, the ones that do are the large mega firms with humongous staffs. These mega firms that are on TV are going to also be the ones that put the least amount of attention towards your case. They are the equivalent to a fine tuned factory who cranks the product through as efficiently as possible. You may hire these firms because there is no cost for you unless you win. They will tell you that they will only take a fee if you win and you think there is no cost for yourself and you can only benefit from the lawyer taking on your case. Most of the work is done between the paralegals in the office and the insurance adjusters and the lawyers in the firm do not touch your case. The law firms churn out cases as quick as they can and move on the the next one. In fact the paralegal may be meeting with XYZ insurance to settle many cases at once.
When you receive the call that there is a settlement on the table, do not be shocked or surprised that the settlement amount is much lower than you expected. One reason for the low settlement is that the law firm makes their money on volume so there is no reason to maximize of of a single case, rather it is better to make a little off of every case. Another reason for the low offer is because the insurance companies know how these big firms operate and that there is very little chance that the law firm will try to take the case to a trial.
You may be wondering what the big wig lawyers in the firm are doing besides plastering their faces on TV ads, bus stops, and billboards. These lawyers do actually take on cases, just not the simple basic ones. If you had a catastrophic injury you can be sure that it will be a top notch lawyer from the firm representing you because those are the cases that will go to trial and have large payouts.
The bottom line is that the firm will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for their ad campaigns but will make their money back off you all their clients. By settling cases quickly and for small amounts they can take their cut off the top and recoup their money and then some very quickly. Small law firms who do not have the funds to advertise the same way, also have less overhead and will dedicate themselves personally to your case but will take longer to reach a settlement. The client needs to decide if they want a small amount of money but in a short time or if they want to try to go for more money but risk the case dragging on for a long time.
Hiring a lawyer should not be a spur of the moment decision, do your research before hiring a lawyer to take on your injury case. Meet with the lawyer, or assistant or paralegal in most cases, and ask questions. Find out if you will ever get to speak with the lawyer, what they think you will get for your case, how much money they will take from the settlement, and how long they think it will take to resolve. If you hear or see any red flags along the way make sure you address them immediately and do not be afraid to question anything that they are doing. Bottom line is that they are there to help you and you need to be treated with the respect you deserve. You are a real person which legitimate claims and not just a piece of paper with a settlement offer on it. The law firm is nothing without you so if you walk away they make no money so make sure you are treated the way that you deserve.
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